The moment Eliron saw Zora use Supreme Sword Aura, a wide smile appeared on his face.

Supreme sword aura was one of the heights of swordsmanship, a skill that evaded most masters of the blade.

It was destruction incarnate, a surge of pure force that was devoid of mana. Well, that was the version he knew about.

Somehow, it seemed Zora had managed to take the Supreme Swords Aura to the next level, if that was even possible.

He could see the flicks of mana that surged around the aura, swirling around it like a tornado.

With Eliron’s sensitivity to mana, he was able to see the inner workings of the technique, right from the mana flow, down to its assortment.

It was amazing.

She had coated the destructive energy with her lightning mana, creating something that could hardly be called Supreme Sword Aura.

It was the next level, a perfect application of experience, skill and mana control. A feat worthy of a Saint!

Eliron did not need to be told that his own version would falter in the face of this madness.

He needed something different. His aim was not power, he needed something that could stop that attack. Consume it. Else, the entire forest behind him would be blackened to ash and embers.

Eliron searched his mind...

Five spells every day. For the past three months, he had gone through them meticulously, memorising spells that he had affinities for.

Not one day did he fail to do so, and some days he even went above and beyond, going over those he was forgetting, revising them.

And now, Eliron had become an encyclopaedia for SSSR spells, knowledge of over five hundred spells swirling in his mind.

He knew exactly what he needed.

A spell that was capable of swallowing anything that it made contact with, pulling it into an endless cloud of black.

It was light magic, but a horrid, twisted version born out of manipulating the divine. A profane spell, an aberration to what was natural.

[SSSR Skill—Unholy Light]

For a moment, the entire world turned a fathomless black. The stars vanished into nothingness, the campfires in the distance doused out, even the shimmering dome was lost. It was already night, but this darkness... it was complete, it was perfect.

Light was considered one of the affinities closest to divinity, a holy affinity among others... But light magic that could call upon the abyss, to summon the profane.

It was no longer light magic, it was an error.

A sickening feeling suddenly descended upon everyone present. It was like a slimy, serpentine creature had wrapped itself around their bodies, graced them with its claws, whispered sacrilege in their ears...

And a second later, the feeling was gone. Light had returned to the world. But everyone, save for Eliron, Zora and the Grand marshal were on their knees.

Eliron heard someone throw up.

"Ahhh... I guess I overstepped."

The supreme sword aura, the lightning that coursed around it, and the howling winds... everything was gone, swallowed by the abyssal blight.

Eliron took a deep breath. ’That was a lot...’

He did not know what to expect after reading the description of the spell, but now that he had seen it first hand, he was shocked.

Calling on the abyss, just once had drained him of a significant amount of mana. He sighed as he stared at Zora.

’Is she finally done?’ Eliron thought.

The others had been at the sidelines and yet the effect the spell had on them was so great that they were frozen stoll.

But Zora, she had faced that anomaly head on. No matter how deep her well of defiance ran, that must have rattled even her.

’So? What will be your play, Saint?’

Within the golden dome, Indra stared at his shaking hands, a chill immersing itself in his spinal cord, one so choking that he felt frozen in place.

’What sort of sorcery was that?’ He thought, still trying to wrap his head around it.

The darkness that swallowed sense, the profane whispers, words that his mind could never hope to comprehend...

It was vile, a spell so evil that Indra could not imagine how such it had come to be.

Sparring with Eliron was a mistake. That man! His eyes widened, his heart pounding in his chest.

’We have to escape, we have to get out of—’

"Brave heart." Yennefer suddenly materialized in the dome, a warm golden glow bathing all of them.

Indra took a breath, and it was then he realized that he had been holding his breath for so long.

The spell managed to wash the unshakable feeling of dread from all of them, and so he stood up, stifling a breath as he nervously smothered his clothing down.

He glanced at the grand marshal, feeling new found respect for him. The man must have had an unshakable mind to have withstood such a ghastly experience without going down to his knees.

His face was pale, and his eyes were sunken with fear. But he had done far better than then.

"At least the damn duel is over.’ Indra thought, when suddenly a surge of violent mana cut paste him, searing his skin.

"Don’t tell me—?!" He stared at Zora, his eyes widening. "Why is she still doing this? Is she trying to get killed?!"

Zora’s laughter was just as confident as it had always been. She wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on her face, and took in a deep breath, just before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Excellent my dear!" She laughed, speaking her hands at her sides and mana began to leak out. "I think... I think... you have finally done it! This heat, this fire inside me, it has finally blossomed into a raging flame!"

Vwooosh!

Yellow fire swirled around Zora’s body, mending with it as though it was a part of her. Parts of her body seemed to flicker as though it were fire, while the rest of her glowed a bright incandescent amber.

Her hair extended like a veil, growing so long that if they were not billowing behind her, they would reach her shin.

Finally, her fangs extended, and two bright red horns popped out of her head, curving backward.

Zora’s dragon technique...

’Is she really going to...’ Indra thought, his eyes hardening.

Something was missing, Zora was a dual elemental mage, meaning it was not yet complete—

Tzzzzz!

The dark blue lightning sparkles within the cacophony of flames, each buzz resounding like thunder.

It was complete.

"She really did it..." Indra breathed out in awe.

He remembered how much she had complained about the plateau she had been on, about how she no longer seemed capable of advancing.

Yet, she had somehow managed to pull it off! Did she attain enlightenment all because of her spar with the elven lord?

The fire was burning brightly, the floor underneath her feet already melting into magma as she stared at Eliron.

Now Indra was unsure about his earlier conclusion. He had never seen Zora fight in this state, he could not even calculate her power level. Her power was simply that overwhelming.

The dozen Eliron’s smiled, a satisfying chuckle escaping their lips as they walked closer together.

Something glinted in their eyes, excitement and respect. "Saint Zora..." Eliron smiled. "Can you see it now? Who is the real one?" They all asked in unison.

Zora’s excitement mirrored his, her fiery eyes piercing through the illusion that stood before her. "Haaah, you sneaky bastard."

There was a brief pause, followed by a sentence that shocked everyone present.

"You are all clones."

Indra did not know how many more stunned expressions he could put on. Was she saying that all this while, Eliron had still not joined the battle??

He glanced around, his eyes narrowing, searching for even the faintest distortion in mana. But he found none.

A figure walked past him, stepping forward, and Indra felt his heat drop.

"It can’t be..."

But Zora’s wide smirk confirmed his suspicions.

"Excellent observation, Saint Zora." The grand marshal said, his hands still clasped at his back in a regal manner.

Step...

"So where is my gift?" Zora asked, her voice tingling with rabid excitement.

"I did promise you a treat did I not?"

Step!

The grand marshal’s voice morphed into something that it was not, and along with his voice, the illusion fell, leaving the imposing presence of the elven lord behind.

"So all this time..." had the grand marshal ever even stepped a foot here? All this time, while Indra thought he had been conversing with Reginald, it was Eliron.

He had been played for a fool.

Indra shook his head, a smile tugging on his normally expressionless face. The spell was so flawless, the deceit so deep, that he could not even be bothered to be angry.

Eliron took in a breath. He already knew the spell he would show Zora. It had been on his mind since the moment he laid eyes on her vibrant hair.

He planted his feet firmly on the floor.

The last time he used this spell, he had been a fledgling, barely able to keep it up for twenty seconds.

Fire leaked out of his back like a river, cascading into the air like the wings of a seraph—

But now, things were different.

...

A/N

I hope the last couple of Chapters has given you all an idea on Eliron’s current level.

The growth does not stop, there are greater height to reach, and more realms of power to explore.